Local football players make college choices official
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SIGN OF THE TIMES- From left, Rio Mesa High's Josh Harrison (San Jose State) and Malachi Lewis (Oregon), as well as Camarillo High's Sampson Szakacsy (Arizona State), Bryan Anger (Cal) and Kurtis Gunther (San Diego State) gather at Clarion Palms Hotel in Newbury Park Wednesday morning to sign NCAA national letters of intent.

Four years playing high school football paid off for 26 young men Wednesday at the Clarion Palms Hotel in Newbury Park, where they signed NCAA letters of intent.

Players from schools such as Camarillo and Rio Mesa showed up for a banquet that was televised by Fox Sports and ESPN.

Camarillo High had three players at the event- Bryan Anger, Samson Szakacsy and Kurtis Gunther.

"This is fantastic," Camarillo head coach Dennis Riedmiller said. "It's a great day for the schools in this county to see so many great kids get scholarships."

Anger, a highly touted punter, will be going to California Berkeley.

"I'm going there because I had a blast on my recruiting trip," Anger said. "I loved everything they had, from their education to their team.

Gunther, an offensive lineman, will be attending San Diego State, and Szakacsy, a quarterback, signed on with Arizona State after being quoted as saying he was going to Southern California late last year.

"In the end, I think I will be able to play in a quicker period of time at Arizona State," said Szakacsy, who spent much of the previous season sidelined with a leg injury.

"I basically fell in love with the town of Tempe and the staff and players that I met were nice, too. It seems like a great college town."

Rio Mesa High had two players in attendance- running back Malachi Lewis and wide receiver Josh Harrison. Harrison will be attending San Jose State, while Lewis will be going to the University of Oregon.

"It's an exciting day for me and it makes the whole recruiting process worth it today," Lewis said. "I'm excited about going there. The coaches and players were nice. I want to study computer science so I can help program video games."